With the support of the shipping industry, 47 governments have submitted a joint proposal for a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pricing mechanism for international shipping. The joint submitted text calls for an annual contribution by ships, per tonne of GHG emitted, to a new “IMO GHG Strategy Implementation Fund.”
If approved by IMO Member States in April 2025, the maritime GHG emissions pricing mechanism should enter into force globally in early 2027.
The co-sponsors of the document believe that the economic element of the basket of mid-term measures should have at its heart a levy/contribution on the GHG emissions from ships, which will stimulate energy efficiency, reduce the price gap between fossil fuels and zero-near zero GHG fuels, and generate revenues to support uptake of zero-near zero fuels, technologies and energy sources.
The current list of co-sponsors of the proposed MARPOL text includes Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, Seychelles, Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, the European Commission, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
The joint submission by governments sets out convergent regulatory text for amendments to the IMO MARPOL Convention, which will require shipping companies operating ships on international voyages to make GHG contributions per tonne of CO2e emitted to a new “IMO GHG Strategy Implementation Fund.”
The key purpose of this mandatory GHG charge, says ICS, will be to reduce the cost gap between zero/near-zero GHG emission fuels such as green methanol, ammonia and hydrogen, and conventional marine fuels.
The revenue generated will be used to reward the production and uptake of zero/near-zero fuels, whilst also providing billions of U.S. dollars annually to support the maritime GHG reduction efforts of developing countries.
This proposal will be considered by a critical IMO meeting in February.
If the MARPOL amendments are approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2025, they should enter into force globally in early 2027, with the collection of annual GHG contributions from ships commencing in 2028.
